the_free_landsfandomcom-20200213-history
The Hindustan Liberation War
|- |'Date' | style="text-align:center;"| 19 March - 15th December 1981 |- |'Location' || Republic of Hindustan |- |'Result' || Decisive Inquilabstani and Hindustani Revolutionary victory. Dissolution of the Republic of Hindustan Commencation of the Hindustani insurgency. |- |'Territorial Changes' | Hindustan wholly annexed by Inquilabstan |- | | |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|'Billigerents' |- | Republic of Hindustan Freedom Movement of Inquilabstan Foriegn Mercinaries | Inquilabstan Hindustan Liberation Front Foriegn Volunteers |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|'Supported by' |- | | |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|'Commanders and Leaders' |- | | |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|'Strength' |- | | |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|'Casualties and Losses (Independant Claims)' |- | align=center colspan=2 | | align=center colspan=2 | |} The Hindustan Liberation War, also known as the Third Inquilabstan-Hindustan War, and the Invasion of Hindustan, was an armed conflict between the People’s Socialist Republic of Inquilabstan and the Republic of Hindustan lasting from March to December 1981. With the massive number of casualties,perhaps surpassing a million, in such a relatively short period, the Hindustan Liberation War is considered one of the most violent conflicts of the 20th century. The war began when Inquilabstan invaded Hindustan via air and land on March 19, 1981. It followed a long history of border disputes, proxy conflicts, intense diplomatic tensions, and conventional conflicts. A number of proxy forces participated in the war, most notably the Hindustani HLF siding with Inquilabstan and Inquilabstani HFG, siding with Hindustan. Ground Operations On the early morning of 19 March 1981, Inquilabstani forces abandoned the plan for initial, non-nuclear decapitation strikes against top Hindustani officials, in light of reports that President Narendra Singh was planning on embarking upon an unscheduled trip to the northern provinces within the week's end. At approximately 05:30 two flights of IAL-22Ms from the 3rd and 8th Heavy Bomber Squadrons began bombarding the Hindustani forward air base at Jahlon. Complementing the aerial bombardment were mass bombardments through OTR-21 and 23, as well as TR-1 and R-29RM missiles. These initial strikes were targeted at radar and early warning systems, and were largely successful, destroying the first line detection capabilities of Hindustan. On 20 March 1981 at approximately 02:30, explosions rocked Hindu Mahasabha offices throughout the border regions. Special operations commandos of the Red Guard, with assistance of anti-Hindustani partisans, infiltrated throughout the country, and targeted both Mahasabha structures, as well as communication lines. These units also called in the early air strikes. At 03:15 Premier Varghese announced that she had ordered the reunification of the nation. When this word was given, the troops on standby crossed the border into Hindustan. The invasion was swift, leading to the collapse of the opposition government and the military in rural areas of the border provinces in about three weeks, assisted greatly by partisan action against Hindustani rear line troops and logistical columns. The existing infrastructure was rapidly seized and secured with limited damage in that time. Concurrently, Inquilabstani troops launched an air and amphibious assault on the Gujarat peninsula, supported by Naval units. During this action, those Hindustani naval units that had escaped the missile, aerial, and naval bombardment of Hindustani harbors and naval stations began to engage Inquilabstani units. With the destruction of larger surface vessels, suicidal attacks by gunboats and missileboats were successful in sinking the Inquilabstani minesweeper INS Denevsky, and the corvette, INS Rammohan. In keeping with the rapid advance plan, the Inquilabstani 3rd Shock Army moved westward and then northward through the western desert and plains, to cut off the Hindustani units fighting the 1st shock Army. This advance was halted slightly, as Inquilabstani troops surrounded, and laid seige to the city of Amra. After two weeks of urban combat, the city fell, and those Hindustani units that had not pulled back from the Thar Pocket, were encircled, to be ovverun a month later. Meanwhile the 1st Expeditionary Force moved along Highway 1 through the center of the country, along with the 1st Armoured Division, and 4th Mechanized division. From the landings north of Parsal, the city was soon wedged between the above force, land based forces from the south. The city would fall in six days, after which these liberating units moved northward through the western marshland. During the first week of the war, Hindustani forces fired several ballistic missiles at the Inquilabstani cities to the south of the border, but for two, the missiles were intercepted and shot down. On the evening of 24 May, a battalion of the 1st Naval Infantry Regiment pushed through Nasrabad and established a perimeter 15 kilometers north of the city. Hindustani reinforcements from Kut launched several counterattacks. The Naval Infantry managed to repel them using indirect fire and close air support. The last enemy attack was beaten off at dawn. The battalion estimated that 200–300 enemy soldiers were killed, without a single IPA casualty. the city was declared secure, but attacks by Mahasabha paramilitaries continued. These attacks were uncoordinated, and resulted in firefights in which large numbers of paramilitaries were killed. Because of the city's strategic position as a road junction, a significant gridlock occurred as IPA forces moving north converged on the city's surrounding highways. With the Nasrabad and Talil Airfields secured, IPA forces gained an important logistical center in southern Hindustan and established FOB Lenin, some 16 km outside of Nasrabad. Additional troops and supplies were soon brought through this forward operating base. The 10th Airborne Division continued its attack north in support of the 3rd Infantry Division. By 28 May, a severe dust storm slowed the IPA advance as the 3rd Infantry Division halted its northward drive half way between Najama and Karkala. As a result of heavy rains that occurred along with the dust storm, orange-colored mud bogged down some parts of the invasion force in the area. Air operations by helicopters, poised to bring reinforcements from the 10th Airborne, were blocked for three days. There was particularly heavy fighting in and around the bridge near the town of Karkala After this point, the IPA met with considerable success, capturing three important mountain positions after a prolonged artillery barrage in the north. By the end of June, however, both sides had relative progress; Hindustan had made progress in counterattacks in areas such as Tithwal, Uri and Poonch and the IPA had captured the Haji Pir Pass, 8 km from the major Hindustani city of Pala. On 1 July 1981, Hindustan launched a counterattack, called Operation Grand Slam, with the objective to capture the vital town of Akhnoor, which would sever communications and cut off supply routes to Indian troops. President Singh calculated that "Atheist morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows at the right time and place" although by this time Operation Gibraltar had failed and Inquilabstan had captured the Haji Pir Pass. Attacking with an overwhelming ratio of troops and tanks, Hindustan made small gains against IPA forces, who were caught unprepared, though the Hindustanis suffered heavy and unsustainable losses. Inquilabstan responded by calling in its air force to blunt the attack. The next week, Hindustan retaliated, its air force attacking Inquilabstani forces and air bases, though with little success, as Inquilabstani air defenses and air superiority prevailed. Inquilabstan's decision to open up the theater of attack into central Hindustan forced the Hindustani army to relocate troops engaged in the operation to defend the central highways. Operation Grand Slam therefore failed, as the Hindustani Army was unable to capture Akhnoor; it became one of the turning points in the war when Inquilabstan decided to relieve pressure on its troops in the north by attacking Hindustan further south. As this happened in the north and east, in the south, a fierce battle was fought at Naland, which was the only other Hindustani stronghold in the region. IPA airborne and armored units with air support fought an intense battle with Hindustani regulars, and paramilitary forces. It started with Inquilabstani Hind helicopter gunships setting out on a mission to attack Hindustani armored units. while flying low the Hinds came under heavy anti-aircraft, small arms, and rocket fire which heavily damaged many helicopters and shot one down, frustrating the attack. They attacked again successfully on 26 August, this time after a pre-mission artillery barrage and with support from jets, with no gunships lost. The 1st Brigade of the 3rd Red Guard Division moved in and after heavy fighting with entrenched Mahasabha loyalists seized a strategic bridge in Naland, known as "Objective Charlie". They then came under fierce counterattacks, who failed to dislodge IPA forces from their positions. After 36 hours of combat at the bridge at Naland, the Hindustanis were defeated, and the key bridge was secured, isolating Naland from the north. The 10th Airborne Division on 29 August, supported by a battalion from the 12th Armored Division, attacked Hindustani forces in the southern part of the city, near the Hanuman temple, and captured Naland's airfield. On 31st of August, the 10th made a reconnaissance-in-force into Naland. On 1 September elements of the 4th Armored Division launched an armored thrust through Naland's city center, and after several days of heavy fighting and with air support were able to defeat the enemy forces, securing the city by the 4th. Inquilabstan crossed the Hindustani Mahaveer defensive line on the western front on 6 September. On 6 September, the 15th Infantry Division of the IPA, battled a massive counterattack by Hindustan near the west bank of the Ichogil Canal, which was a major defensive line. The Hindustani General Rajnat Lalji's entourage itself was ambushed and he was forced to flee his vehicle. However, Hindustani defences held for the moment. A second, this time successful, attempt to cross the Ichhogil Canal was made over the bridge in the village of Barki, just east of Lasore. These developments brought the IPA within the range of Lasore International Airport. As a result, many nations requested a temporary ceasefire to allow them to evacuate their citizens. However, the Hindustani counterattack which tried to take Khem Karan from IPA forces nullified any scope for a ceasefire. Inquilabstan responded with an offensive which tried to divert the attention of Hindustan from Khem Karan by an attack on Bedian and the adjacent villages. The thrust against Lasore from the north consisted of the 1st Infantry Division supported by the three tank regiments of the 2nd Independent Armoured Brigade; they quickly advanced across the border, reaching the city by 6 September. The Hindustani Army held the bridges over the canal or blew up those it could not hold, effectively stalling any further advance by the IPA on Lasore. The same week, a counter offensive consisting of an armored division and infantry division supported by Hindustani Air Force Mirages failed force the IPA 15th Division to withdraw to its starting point. Although the Inquilabstanis suffered minimal casualties, the bulk of the damage being taken by ammunition and stores vehicles, the higher commanders had no information of the capture of Batapore and misleading information led to the command to withdraw from Batapore and Dograi to Ghosal-Dial. Dograi was eventually recaptured on 21 September, for the second time but after a much harder battle due to enemy reinforcements. On 8 September, a company Mechanized Infantry was sent to reinforce a Hindustan Liberation Front (HLF) post at Munabao – a strategic hamlet about 250 kilometres from Jodhpur. Their brief was simple. To hold the post and to keep Hindustan's infantry battalions from overrunning the post at bay. But at Maratha Hill (in Munabao) – as the post has now been christened – the IPA company could barely manage to thwart the intense attack for 24 hours. A company of the 3rd Red Guards with 954 heavy mortar battery ordered to reinforce the HLF post at Munabao could be reached only with great difficulty. The Hindustani Air Force had strafed the entire area, and also hit a railway train coming from Barmer with reinforcements near Gadra road railway station. Inquilabstani units held on, however, and on 10 September, the Munabao offensive failed. On the days following 9 September, both nations' premiere formations were tested in unequal battles. The IPA's 1st Armoured Division, labeled the "pride of the Army", launched an offensive towards Sialkot. The Division divided itself into two prongs, was initially forced back by the Hindustani 6th and 18th Armoured Divisions at Chawinda and was almost forced to withdraw after suffering losses of nearly 32 tanks. The Hindustanis, however were still pushed back, and tried to counter their loss by launching Operation Windup, which failed to force the IPA back. Similarly, Hindustan's pride, the 1st Armoured Division, pushed an offensive towards Khem Karan, with the intent to re-capture Lasore and the bridge on River Beas to Jalandhar. The 1st Armoured Division never made it past Khem Karan, however, and by the end of 10 September lay disintegrated by the defenses of the IPA 4th Mountain Division at what is now known as the Battle of Asal Uttar (lit. meaning – "Real Answer", or more appropriate English equivalent – "Fitting Response"). The area became known as 'Patton Nagar' (Patton Town), because of the large number of Hindustani Patton tanks destroyed and left there. Approximately 107 tanks were destroyed or abandoned, with only 32 IPA tanks destroyed or damaged. The Hindustani 5th Armoured Brigade was next sent to Sialkot sector behind the 6th Armoured Division where it didn't see action, surrendering on the 14th. By the end of this intense period of fighting, Hindustan's great Autumn Counteroffensive had succeeded in only destroying their finest units, but for those around Hastinapur, and were followed by a rapid Inquilabstani drive to the gates of the Hindustani capital itself. While the 29th Hindustani armored, and 11th mechanized divisions put up a stiff resistance on Highway 1, the destruction of Hindustan's Air Force led to the decimation of these units from above. By October 1st, the IPA had advanced to the suburbs of Hastinapur. Five days into the siege of Hastinapur, the IPA moved into the city. Units of the Hindustani Special National Guard led the defense of the city. The rest of the defenders were a mixture of elite National Guard units, regular army units, civilian militia, and Mahasabha paramilitaries. Initial plans were for IPA units to surround the city and gradually move in, forcing defender armor and ground units to cluster into a central pocket in the city, and then attack with air and artillery forces. However, the IPA had underestimated the city's defenses, and were unable to conduct a large scale bombardment campaign from the air as initially envisioned. This was due to the proliferation of the Hindustani's most advanced air defenses. The scorched earth policy, destroying the roads to the city, and in the suburbs, combined with heavy rains, caused vehicles to bog down, further halting the advance. Digging down, and bombarding the city with conventional artillery, the IPA concurrently launched an advance to the north of the city, which was driven back, taking heavy losses during the fierce urban combat. Major fighting over the Mahashivaya Bridge to the east was some of the most brutal of the war. Fighting at Kamparan also took a toll. By the 24th, however, the Hindustanis, whittled down by sickness and lack of supplies, began to crumble under the Inquilabstani forces. At 5:45, IPA troops succeed in taking the Mahashivaya bridge, and began to roll into the city. With the Hindustanis running out of munitions for their air defenses, IPAF bombardments leveled the center of the city, along with most of the remaining resistance. After an initial engagement of armored units south of the city, most of the remaining National Guard's assets were destroyed and routes in the southern outskirts of the city were occupied. On 5 November, the IPA executed a raid to test remaining defenses, with 29 tanks and 14 BMP-2s advancing to the Baghdad airport. They met heavy resistance, but were successful in reaching the airport. The troops faced heavy fighting in the airport, and were even temporarily pushed out, but eventually secured the airport. The next day, another brigade of the IPA attacked into downtown Hastinapur and occupied one of the palaces of President Singh in fierce fighting. IPN Naval Infantry also faced heavy shelling from artillery as they attempted to cross the river bridge, but the river crossing was successful. The Hindustanis managed to inflict moderate casualties on the IPA forces near the airport from defensive positions but suffered severe casualties from air bombardment. Within hours of the palace seizure and with television coverage of this spreading through the nation, IPA forces ordered Hindustani forces within Hastinapur to surrender, or the city would face another full-scale assault. Hindustani government officials had either disappeared or had conceded defeat, and on 9 November, 1981, Hastinapur was formally occupied by IPA forces. Much of Hastinapur remained unsecured however, and fighting continued within the city and its outskirts well into the period of occupation. President Singh had vanished, and his whereabouts were unknown. On 10 November, a rumor emerged that Narendra Singh and his top aides were in a temple complex in the Samsan District. Three companies of Red Guard were sent to capture him and came under heavy fire from rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and assault rifles. 28 troops was killed and 47 were wounded, but neither Singh or any of his top aides were found. On 12 November, by late afternoon, all fighting had ceased. Shortly after the sudden collapse of the defense of Hastinapur, rumors were circulating in Hindustan and elsewhere that there had been a deal struck wherein the Inquilabstani SSD had bribed key members of the Hindustani military elite and/or the Mahasabha party itself to stand down. The extent of the defections and their effect on the war are unclear. IPA troops promptly began searching for the key members of the Mahasabha government. On the 1st of December, an official treaty of unconditional surrender was signed by Hindustani High Command, and the dissolution of the nation was made official on the 15th. Air Operations From the onset of the war, rapid strikes conducted by the IPAF helped to destroy the defensive, logistical, and communicative abilities of the Hindustani forces. With the initial attack by IAL-22Ms, and a wide array of ballistic and cruise missiles, a pattern of attack would emerge, where IPAF forces played a large role in anti-ground operations, with a reduced need for air superiority operations, given the massive destruction of Hindustani aircraft on the ground. The lax Hindustani air defenses in the vast countryside, where many of the battles of the war were fought, proved to be a tactically disastrous move, although the concentration of air defenses in urban areas proved to be more daunting than earlier predicted. Government buildings, TV stations, airfields, presidential palaces, military installations, communication lines, supply bases, oil refineries, airfields, electric powerplants and factories were all destroyed due to extensive massive aerial and missile attacks. The first week of the air war saw a few Hindustani sorties, but these did little damage, and 38 Mirages were shot down by IPAF planes. The phase of the air campaign ostensibly targeted military targets throughout the battlefield: missile launchers, weapons research facilities, and naval forces. IPAF bombing raids also destroyed civilian infrastructure, but this was kept to a minimum, given the perceived annexation after the war. Seven of twenty major power stations and 119 substations were totally destroyed, while a further six major power stations were damaged. The Inquilabstani government claimed the Hindustani government fabricated numerous attacks on holy sites in order to rally the Hindu community. However, independant research indicates that there may be some truth to certain Hindustani reports, with Inquilab stani attacks on holy sites being aimed at lowering enemy morale. The final number of Hindustani civilians killed by the air campaign was 2,278, while 5,965 were reported wounded. The air campaign devastated entire Hindustani brigades deployed in the open desert in combat formation. It also prevented an effective resupply of units engaged in combat, and prevented some 450,000 enemy troops from achieving a larger force concentration. The air campaign had a significant effect on the tactics employed by opposing forces in subsequent conflicts. Entire Hindustani divisions were dug in the open while facing Inquilabstani forces. Hindustani forces also tried to reduce the length of their supply lines and the total area defended. Hindustan lost a total of 259 aircraft in the war, 122 of which were lost in combat. The IPAF lost a total of 75 aircraft ‒ 52 fixed-wing aircraft and 23 helicopters ‒ during the war, with 39 fixed-wing aircraft and 5 helicopters lost in combat. One IPAF fighter may have been lost in air-air combat, a IAL-23. Other claims include a IAL-21. Infact, most IPAF casualtiescame from anti-aircraft fire. Naval Operations The naval aspect of the liberation war was virtually taken care of within the first few months of the war, with the vast majority of Hindustani surface vessels (80%) being destroyed in the bombardment of facilities that occurred during the first 72 hours of the conflict. Of those vessels destroyed, a small number were destroyed by Inquilabstani trained Hindustani commandos. Each commando carried a pair of fins, a knife, a limpet mine, and swimming trunks. Some had compasses, 1 in 3 commandos had submachine guns and hand grenades, and the group leaders carried transistor radios. All the groups carried their own equipment to their targets and after entering Hindustan between Febuary 3 and 9, reached their destinations by the 17th, using the local partisan network of safehouses. A pair of songs was played by Inquilabstan Radio at specific times to convey the intended signal for commencing the operations. As a result of these operations, 34 Hindustani transport vessels were disabled. Apart from these engagements, Inquilabstani missile boats made two nighttime attacks on Hindustani naval bases on March 24 and 30, during which 12 enemy vessels were disabled, or destroyed. The remainin eight large surface vessels were deployed to counter Inquilabstani landings in April, but were all destroyed at the loss of two IPN frigates destroyed, and one destroyer severely damaged. From this point onward, Hindustani suicide attacks with speedboats and missileboats succeeded in sinking a total of 12 IPN vessels. By June, these two had ceased, with the essential complete destruction of the Hindustani navy. Casualties The increased importance of air attacks from both warplanes and cruise missiles led to controversy over the number of civilian deaths caused during the war's initial stages. Within the war's first 24 hours, more than 1,000 sorties were flown, many against targets along the border. Many cities were the targets of heavy bombing, ultimately leading to civilian casualties. Furthermore, Inquilabstani reprisals against Mahasabha civilian party members, and Hindustani action against suspected guerrillas and minorities have led to a claim of upto 180,000 civilian casualties. Analysis shows, however, that Inquilabstan inflicted lower civilian casualties as a whole, given the large degree of support from the local populace, coordination with partisans to evacuate civilians, and provisions to evacuate civilians from besieged cities. The exact number of Hindustani combat casualties is unknown, but is believed to have been very heavy. Some estimate that Hindustan sustained between one, and eight hundred thousand KIA. Former Hindustani military personnel often quote the lower figure, with the Hindustani government in exile citing 123,220–160,000 KIA and 60,711 MIA. These however, are widely discarded, with independent analysis supporting a figure of anywhere between 600,000-700,000 KIA, with as many as 100,000 MIA. Infact, this is based off of Hindustani POW reports. The total number of Inquilabstani dead is put at 75,000–91,000 killed and 400,000 WIA, with 2974 MIA as of 2014. Category:Wars Category:Conflicts